Apparatus and methods are provided for conducting device and service discovery over a wireless network interface.
Mobile devices often possess Wi-Fi radio interfaces, which allow these devices to participate in infrastructure networks and communicate directly with other devices in a peer-to-peer (P2P) network. The ability to form network connections without a physical connection provides an advantage to mobile devices because such devices tend to move from one location to the next, forming temporary connections with other devices that are within range.
Mobile devices often depend on batteries for power. A device may conserve power by placing its Wi-Fi radio interface into a sleep state when not in use. However, while its Wi-Fi radio interface is asleep, the device may miss opportunities to discover and connect to other devices that come into range. Thus, what is needed is a method for conserving a mobile device's battery power while still allowing the device to discover and connect to other devices via a Wi-Fi connection.